Sunday, January 3, 2010

Absolutely and Entirely

I regularly read a devotional by Oswald Chambers tiltled, "My Utmost for His Highest". This man had insight into the heart and character of God like no one else I have ever read. As I sat in my polka dotted chair by my fireplace on New Year's Day, this is what I read on January 1st : "My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest--my best for His glory." He goes on to say that, "To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point." In other words, "I am determined to be ABSOLUTELY and ENTIRELY for Him and Him alone. "

I was so affected by that statement, the one about being absolutely and entirely God's, that I have mulled it over in my mind and meditated on it for the last three days. I wrote in the front of my Utmost book and signed my name and the date underneath. I have made a committment and now I have to figure out what that looks like in my everyday life.

By God's grace, from this day forward, I will be ABSOLUTELY and ENTIRELY for Him and Him alone. This is a huge undertaking--one for which I will have to submit to God second by second--one for which I will have to have a long obedience in the same direction. God grant me wisdom and patience and the ability to die to myself.

"... my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death"